HC Deb 11 January 1988 vol 125 cc45-6W
Mr. Rowlands

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whose advice he has sought from outside his Department for the preparation of the history curriculum as a foundation subject; and whom he intends to consult on the curriculum.

Mrs. Rumbold

The arrangements for consulting on proposals for attainment targets and programmes of study in relation to any national curriculum foundation subject are set out in clauses 11 and 12 of the Education Reform Bill now before the House. My right hon. Friend has not yet established working groups to prepare such proposals for foundation subjects other than mathematics or science.

Mr. Rowlands

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he specially requested the document in the history curriculum prepared and submitted to him on 2 February by the English Historical Association; and what assessment he has made of the support enjoyed by the document as a basis for the history curriculum amongst historians and teachers of history in Britain.

Mrs. Rumbold

The Historical Association sent a copy of the first version of its "Proposals for a Core Curriculum in History" on its own initiative. In responding to the document, my right hon. Friend said that the proposals were interesting, that working towards a national curriculum would involve a great deal of consultation and debate, and that the subject associations would have an important contribution to make to the process. The consultation procedures now provided for in the Education Reform Bill will enable support for the Government's own eventual proposals for history to be assessed.